My feeling is that, as great as a long term investment as the airport is, in the short-medium term, market would value a gain on BV based on fair value assessment of a given illiquid investment much lower than it would value a gain in one of FIH holding that are trading in the stock market.
Namely these four financial names:
IIFL Finance
IIFL Wealth
IIFL Securitie
CSB Bank
The first three are more or less flat since March, while CSB Bank had really good run since March (mostly front-loaded).
In aggregate these had $634 million in market value as of Dec 2019, out of ~$3 billion overall investments, based on Annual Letter in March.
By April 1 2020, these four bad boys had shrunk to a total market value of $390 million and them moved upward toward $472 million by close Q2 (June 30) out of total ~$2.7 billion of investments (liquid and illiquid).
So, the four financials had always something between 18-20% of the total investments in Dec 31, 2019 and the same six months later.
Whereas the Airport's fair value had 45% weighing of the total investments in Dec 31, 2019, and very close to 50% as end of Q2.
I don't know much about airport valuations and little about financial services, either, but when the overall blended book value goes down, if one entity (airport)'s % of that blended book value goes up relatively and if it is assessed through fair value as oppose to the market, perhaps market will express its displeasure of that fair value assessment by discounting Fairfax India's stock, since it couldn't do it directly through that fair value assessment.
But, that being said, the stock markets displeasure with the discount is CRAZY :
Market value of FIH at $1.18 billion.
Book value at $2.8 billion and within that the airport is valued at $1.3 billion.
I think, once the four financials start roaring ahead, then you will see that flow through FIH stock price, given that.
-Market seem to prefer an exchange determined price a whole lot more than fair value assessment done privately.
-Financials will be seen as bellwether on the rest of the economy.
Where are all those self-declared long term holders that can't get enough of being a long term holder only when something hits the front page of Wall Street Journal or Financial Times ?